Preparing for Your Hearing Test

If you have never experienced a hearing test before, you may be unfamiliar with the process. This can make your first hearing test more nerve-wracking than it has to be, especially if you are not sure what you are going to be expected to do.

If you have a hearing test on the horizon, then you may want to prepare yourself in the following ways.

Familiarize yourself with the process

There are plenty of helpful guides that can explain what exactly is going to occur during your hearing test. Take the time to browse these, so you feel more comfortable and less like you are stepping into the unknown.

As a brief primer: Essentially, a hearing test involves a number of different noises being played to you through a set of earphones. You will then press a button when you hear a noise. This process is simple, easy to understand, and your audiologist will be on hand at all times to guide you through any issues you experience or answer any questions that you have.

Enjoy some peace and quiet

Continual exposure to loud noises can make a hearing test less effective. For the most reliable results, you will want to spend the 12 hours prior to your appointment in a relatively quiet environment.

This is preferable, but not essential; if your work involves exposure to loud noise, then this may not be a conceivable step for you. If this is the case, then ensure you explain the situation to your audiologist. This is useful background information for them, but there’s no need to worry: your test will still be able to proceed.

Remove wax from your ears

Before we proceed any further in this section, it’s important to issue a gentle reminder: Never put anything smaller than your elbow into your ear! Cotton swabs and other foreign objects are outright bad for your ear canal, so you should never attempt to use these items to remove wax buildup.

There are a variety of options available in drugstores that can dissolve and remove earwax. If you do not have former issues with earwax, then these may work well for you. If you do have a history of wax problems or feel there is a particularly stubborn buildup that you need to tackle, then you may need to have your ears syringed prior to your hearing test. Your doctor should be able to advise you further on this.

Taking the time to go through this process prior to your appointment will deliver the best results, ensuring that any hearing loss that is identified cannot be attributed to wax buildup.

Don’t worry

Finally, if possible, try not to worry about your hearing test. These tests are routine, simple, and noninvasive. They can help to identify issues that are causing you real problems and improve your quality of life exponentially as a result. While you may be nervous, remember that you – and your hearing – are in excellent hands, so there’s no need to fret.